Effort finds area's eldest centenarian

Sunday

Jul 4, 2010 at 2:00 AM

Editor's note: This is the fourth in the series of Seniors Among Us, a partnership of Wentworth Connections and the Portsmouth Herald, to identify and honor the oldest seniors of our community. This piece honors area centenarians. To be fair to all centenarians, the information used in this story is solely from the nominations of these individuals.

Jennifer Feals

Editor's note: This is the fourth in the series of Seniors Among Us, a partnership of Wentworth Connections and the Portsmouth Herald, to identify and honor the oldest seniors of our community. This piece honors area centenarians. To be fair to all centenarians, the information used in this story is solely from the nominations of these individuals.

Seniors Among Us began just over one month ago, in search of the Portsmouth area's oldest senior — and the search was a resounding success.

Approximately 50 nominations came in from friends, family members and loved ones of area residents age 90 of better. Most notable are the Portsmouth area's nine centenarians, particularly 104-year-old Wilma "Doll" Edwards of Kittery, Maine, who will be recognized as the area's oldest senior

"We were surprised, but truly pleased by the great response," said Perry Blass, community liaison for Living Innovations, which offers support and care for seniors and manages Wentworth Connections under the auspices of The Mark Wentworth Home.

A full story will be published in Seacoast Sunday July 11 and a celebration will be held in Edwards' honor in August. During the celebration at The Mark Wentworth Home, she will be presented a portrait painted by local artist Darlene Furbush Ouellett.

Staff at Wentworth Connections are trying to find a way to honor all nominees on the organization's Web site. "It's our intention to keep it alive, keep it going," Blass said.

Born March 3, 1906, Edwards was the fourth of 10 children who grew up on a farm in Alabama, walking three miles each day to attend school in Shiloh. As a young girl, Edwards got the nickname "Doll," which has stuck with her for about a century. When several of her sisters received dolls for Christmas, Edwards' older brother told her, "You can be my doll" and the nickname stuck. When she became a grandmother, Edwards was known as "Mama Doll."

Edwards grew up in a time when older youths, who had completed eighth grade, were allowed to teach younger children. Edwards taught all grade levels in a one-room school house.

Alabama was home for Edwards during her adult years and is where she raised her four children. She was also active in her community and church, participating in the PTA, Ladies Aid Society and the Eastern Star. She taught Sunday school at her church for about 50 years.

Gladys Preszler turned 103 years old April 4. Born in Missouri, she began teaching 40 children in a one-room schoolhouse at age 18. She worked for many years after as an educator and counselor. She was the first head counselor in the California school district where she lived. She moved to the Seacoast six years ago to be near her daughter, Rita Weathersby.

Our next batch of centenarians are 101 years old. At that age, Alice Mayhew of Kittery is petite, but not short on humor. She's always up for a practical joke or witty remark. Her long life can be attributed to that humor, as well as her positive attitude.

Always busy, Mayhew has enjoyed years of knitting and crocheting endless afghans, baby blankets, doilies, and tableclothes. For many years, she used her talents to make money working in the production line at Clarostat Manufacturing in Dover.

"It is no wonder that when you watch Alice cat-napping in her favorite rocker/recliner, her hands are continuously moving in time to some memory of knitting needles or crochet hooks from days gone by," said her niece, Judy Davis, who nominated Mayhew. "Although carpel tunnel somewhat limits the use of her hands, she can still be seen, from time to time, adding a few rows to her newest creation, determined to finish."

Recent 101-year-old residents are Leah McCleary and Anne Brenner, who live independently at Feaster Apartments in Portsmouth. The two recently celebrated their birthdays at a party with friends and neighbors at the apartment complex.

McCleary was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and came to the United States with her family when she was 5. She is fluent in French and English.

At 18, McCleary married her husband Henry and the two built their home in Rumford, Maine, with hammers and elbow grease — not contractors. The couple had two sons, both of whom entered the Air Force in the 1940s. After her husband's death in 1974, McCleary continued to live in the couple's home until 1995, when she moved to Portsmouth to be closer to her sons.

Lori McCleary, Leah's granddaughter, said her grandmother's life has been full of love and laughter and she's been active in her communities, church and always loved to travel with friends and family.

"My grandmother has been the central figure in my family for as long as I can remember," Lori said. "She has been our inspiration, our role model and our biggest cheerleader. She accepts people without condition, mysteriously knows how to make apple jelly out of the apples we have found fallen on the side of the road, and has always been able to make lemonade out of the lemons life has given all of us."

Brenner attributes her longevity to being "cheerful." Her daughter, Sally Brogan, said Brenner stayed extremely active for as long as she could. Brenner was an avid oil painter, who showed work in the Hudson Valley area and Ogunquit, Maine. She keeps a positive attitude, has been an avid reader, and enjoys watching old movies, Brogan said.

The Seniors Among Us centenarians include Exeter's Boston Post Cane holder, Jim Griswold, at age 101. Griswold received the cane at a 100th birthday party in Exeter attended by hundreds of friends and family members.

Since moving to Exeter in 1950, Griswold was an active member of the community who lived in the same house for more than 50 years. During his time in town, he worked as treasurer at Phillips Exeter Academy for about 15 years and later for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He was among a handful of men who started the Exeter Rotary Club, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

At 100 years old, and the youngest of our Seacoast centenarians, Marion Hathaway says life should be simple. Maybe it's the simplicity that has kept Hathaway in great health, never having to receive any surgeries or suffering any broken bones.

Hathaway, who now lives with her daughter, Sheila Jeter, in Rye, was raised on a farm in Portage Lake, Maine, where she ate only local produce, meat and dairy. Activity has been a part of Hathaway's life since she was a child riding her bike often and walking three miles to school with her seven brothers and sisters.

Other centenarians are Beatrice Pearson, 102, of Stratham, and Claire Lacey, 101, of Portsmouth.

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